This invention relates to a photographic processing machine for automatically developing and drying film, printing images on the films onto photographic paper, and developing and drying the photographic paper.
As shown in FIG. 16, this type of photographic processing machine has a film developing unit A comprising a plurality of treating tanks, a film drying unit B, a printing unit C, a printed paper developing unit D having a plurality of processing tanks, and a printed paper drying unit E. Films F are fed through the units A, B and C. Web of photographic paper P is fed through the units C, D and E. While feeding films and photographic paper, the films are developed and dried and the images thereon are printed onto the photographic paper. The thus printed photographic paper is developed and dried. These steps are all carried out automatically. The numerals used in FIG. 16 refer to the same elements shown in the other figures showing the embodiments of this invention. Thus, these elements are described in more detail in the description of the embodiments.
Since the images on the undeveloped films are not fixed, it is preferable to keep them out of contact with the film feed rollers where possible. To feed films stably, a leader should be attached to the leading end of each film. Thus, as shown in FIG. 15, it is an ordinary practice to attach (bond) a leader L to the leading end of a film F. The film is fed through the film developing unit A and the film drying unit B with its side edges guided by the guides while having the leader L sandwiched between the feed rollers.
In the photographic art, the film developing unit A and film drying unit B are usually referred to comprehensively as a film processor, while the printing unit C, printed paper developing unit D and printed paper drying unit E are comprehensively called a printer processor.
Although it is a convenient way to feed a film F guided by a leader L in the film processor, it is difficult, considering the structure of the film printing unit C, to feed the film F through the unit C (into the feed path in the negative mask 14) with the leader L attached thereto. Thus, as shown in FIG. 16, it was heretofore necessary to provide the film processor including the film developing unit A separately from the printer processor including the printing unit C in order to separate a leader L from every film F fed out of the film processor by peeling off an adhesive tape t or by cutting the film F leading end along the chain line and then to insert by hand the film, now free of the leader, into the film inlet 14a of the printer processor. Such work is extremely troublesome and time-consuming.
In order to solve this problem, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication 3-265851 discloses a solution for automatically cutting off a leader L and feeding the leader-free film into the printer processor. But in this arrangement, since a leader L is cut off while feeding a film along a straight feed path, complicated steps were needed to dispose of the cut-off leaders.
Also, in order to feed films in a straight line, a rather long photographic processing machine is needed. It is especially difficult nowadays to find a place which allows for the installation of such a long apparatus. A compact apparatus is thus desired. One way to reduce the size of the processing machine is to change the positional relation between the film processor and the printer by reversing the film feed direction at the mid-point of the film feed path.
It is an object of this invention to provide a means which permits smooth separation of leaders even when the film feed path is reversed at its mid-point.